Spindletop Oil Field Observers

Photograph of observers at Spindletop Oil Field in Beaumont. Groups of men and women can be seen throughout the image. A horse is eating grass in the near foreground. Several carriages can be seen to the far right. A wooden storage container is in the far right background. Buildings and more storage tanks are in the distant left background. On January 10, 1901, Beaumont's Lucas Gusher at Spindletop struck oil and became the first major gusher of the Texas Oil Boom. Gulf Oil and Texaco were both formed directly to develop production at Spindletop. The United States soon became the world's leading oil producer. Men from all over the world quickly made their way to the area with hopes of landing a job in the oil industry. The population of Beaumont grew from 9,000 in January of 1901 to more than 30,000 in March of the same year.

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Photograph of observers at Spindletop Oil Field in Beaumont. Groups of men and women can be seen throughout the image. A horse is eating grass in the near foreground. Several carriages can be seen to the far right. A wooden storage container is in the far right background. Buildings and more storage tanks are in the distant left background. On January 10, 1901, Beaumont's Lucas Gusher at Spindletop struck oil and became the first major gusher of the Texas Oil Boom. Gulf Oil and Texaco were both formed directly to develop production at Spindletop. The United States soon became the world's leading oil producer. Men from all over the world quickly made their way to the area with hopes of landing a job in the oil industry. The population of Beaumont grew from 9,000 in January of 1901 to more than 30,000 in March of the same year.